Health concerns have lead consumers to value reduced fat products, as well as, products with unsaturated fats substituted for saturated fats. Market demand continues to influence researchers to develop and continue to improve reduced fat food products. In that regard, traditional chocolate contains about 30% fat, and traditional chocolate chips contain about 22-25% fat. The high fat contents of traditional confections have led confectioners to experiment with reduced fat chocolate and other confections. "Reduced fat" confections, for the purposes of this application, are defined as confections having from about 5% to about 20% fat. Unfortunately, it has proven difficult to produce chocolate confections that have reduced fat, but which also have the texture and flavor of traditional fine chocolates. In addition to yielding a superior product, this invention provides reduced fat confections with a preliminary dough-like texture that allows confectioners to use extrusion methods to form them.
Depending on its ultimate use or form, chocolate may be molded, band deposited or deposited in a thickened state onto a chilled continuous hard surface. See B. L. Zoumas and E. J. Finnegan, "Chocolate and Cocoa", Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, vol. 6, pp 1-19 (Kirk-Othmer, eds., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New, N.Y., 3d ed. 1979). One such form or use, for example is as morsels or bits in baked goods. Regardless of form, however, the techniques for processing the chocolate are time consuming and costly, and the products are often variable in quality. There accordingly exists a need for a better and less expensive method for processing chocolate to make confections, especially reduced fat confections.
Food processors strive to improve the shelf life of foods. Melt resistance and bloom resistance are shelf life factors that must be considered when developing any new chocolate confection. Products that are stable at ambient temperatures are melt resistant i.e., they do not require refrigeration to hold their solid state. Bloom resistance means that a confection resists the formation of fat crystals that occur when cocoa butter changes state and sugar crystallizes. Both melting and bloom are negative factors, thus resistance to these factors are qualities that improve the shelf life of a confection. The baking performance of prior reduced fat chocolate morsels has not adequately mimicked that of traditional chocolate chips. The qualities of traditional chocolate chips that are particularly desirable are that the morsels semi-melt, and they do not lose their identity during baking, and they recover texture and quality nicely in the final product after baking and cooling.
Researchers continue to seek improvements in reduced fat confection products. For example, a reduced fat product that closely mimics traditional chocolate for use in a candy bar or in baked goods has not been developed before. Especially needed is a chocolate confection that demonstrates high quality baking performance and also shows adequate shelf life performance by demonstrating bloom and melt resistance. It is further desirable that methods of manufacturing reduced fat confections, including chocolate confections are reasonable, and preferably offer a reduction in manufacturing cost.